That Which We Call a Rose
by Rei0013
Summary: Theodosia "Theda" Grisham is a young woman who hates Shinra more than any other thing on the earth. However, even she is unable resist the interesting charms of a certain Shinra employee with fiery red hair. Theda OC xReno.


_* /Looks around/ Well hai, I guess this'll be my first fan fic then. I wrote this nearly a year ago, my first forray into the world of fan fiction. I chose Sinclair as Reno's last name merely because I accidentally chose it as Theda's when I first wrote this and I was informed that it's commonly given to Reno. Reno was never given a last name by the developers, he's just Reno, but Sinclair seems to fit him anyway. But I'll stop rambling now. Hope ya like it! - Rei*_

I walked into the bar that night, looking for someone. I found him exactly the way I expected to; slumped over the bar, goggles pushing back his red spikey hair that ended in a long rat tail, shirt un-tucked, glad that his work was done for the day.

His name was Reno Sinclair and he said he worked for Shinra. Shinra had killed my father and drove my mother mad with grief. I hated them and all they stood for. Only… Reno. I couldn't believe someone like him could work for someplace so evil.

I sat next to him. He lifted his head up and smiled at me. Reno had blue eyes that I couldn't help but notice were smiling as well. He scratched at a mosquito bite on his neck and sat up.

"Look who it is, yo! Nice seeing you're here again, Theda. Care for a drink?" He held out a shot of some sort of amber liquid for me and I couldn't help but laughing. After I took the shot from him and drank it, Reno downed one of his own and adjusted his goggles. "I'm glad you came. Things were getting boring without you."

"Yeah," I said. "I noticed you were starting to doze off."

"Tough day at work." He sighed. "There are some days… Plus Rude left me all this paper—"

"Reno?" I said, interrupting him. He nodded to indicate he wanted me to go on. His expression was rapt, his blue eyes twinkling in the low light, just like the earring in his left earlobe. "Can I ask you something?"

Reno shrugged and leaned back against the bar.

"Shoot."

'Why do you work for Shinra?' is what I wanted to ask, but some sort of jumbled up gibberish came out instead. I had gotten lost gazing into Reno's features; his eyes, the two small red curved marks on each cheekbone, his lips that were so pink and perfect. Without even noticing what I was doing I reached out to touch his cheek. He leaned in closer to me and did the same. The next thing I knew he was kissing me. Reno. Kissing me. My entire body filled with a lurching sensation not worth trying to describe.

He pulled his lips away from mine and looked deep into my eyes.

"Is that what you wanted to ask me?" he said, his voiced strangely quiet. Reno's hand was on my face, his thumb caressing my cheek.

"I- I—" My mouth didn't seem to want to work. But then the barman leaned over the bar. Reno's hand fell from my face.

"Listen," the barman said. "Not that this isn't completely romantic, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave my bar if there's going to be anymore hanky panky between you two."

Reno blushed, something I never thought I'd see him do. He thrust some gil out of his pocket and onto the bar. Then he turned and left. I watched his red rat tail sway with each step he took. And then I ran after him. I finally caught up with him outside.

"Reno!" He just kept on walking, his black shoes pounding against the pavement with each step he took. "RENO!" He stopped walking and turned.

"Ohhh, good, yo. You followed me. I was hoping you might. I guess I didn't sca—"

"Reno, you kissed me." He just laughed.

"Yeah, I did. You're not the first girl I've kissed Theda." I couldn't believe he was just brushing it off like this.

"Reno, I… I love you." The words just fell out of my mouth, before I even knew I was going to say them. The expression on his face changed. He almost looked… worried.

"Yeah, I know," he said, his voice quiet again. He stepped in closer to me and I just fell into his arms. He leaned in and whispered into my ear. "I think maybe… I love you as well."

We just stood there for a long time, holding each other. And then he kissed me again.

Next thing I knew, I was next to him in his bed. His head was on my shoulder. I could hear each breath he took. Slow. Deep. Even. Somehow his hair had come loose. It was long and red and silky and it was spread across his now bare shoulders. Looking at him, I felt a sudden peace inside me. This was where I was meant to be.

"Reno, why do you have to work for Shinra?" I wondered aloud, knowing he couldn't hear me. But he laughed. Obviously he wasn't as asleep as I thought.

"Always the tough questions first right?" Reno lifted his head and looked at me for a few seconds, and then he sat up. "You know there are days I ask myself that question, but I always know the answer. I just can't sit still, yo. I love my job so much, because it's never the same work twice. I get to protect someone I respect more than anyone. Protecting the people I care for, that's what my job is all about." He leaned in and gazed into my eyes. Our noses were touching as he ran his hands through my hair. "I care about you Theda."

I burst into tears. Reno looked confused, maybe even a little hurt.

"Reno, my father… Shinra… they killed him. For his research." Reno's expression became sad and his eyes seemed to lose their sparkle. He put his arms around me and didn't say anything. "I hate Shinra. I hate Shinra." I just repeated it over and over. Reno just held on to me harder. I thought maybe I heard him say "I'm sorry" once or twice. And I could never be sure, but I thought I felt a tear drop onto my shoulder.

The next morning I awoke to someone pounding on the door. Reno didn't look like he was waking any time soon, so I got out of the bed and I searched the floor for what I thought might be a clean shirt. It was long sleeved and white, as all of his shirts were. It smelled like him. My fingers fumbled as I tried to button it up. The pounding had not stopped. I went to the door and opened it, hoping it was just some fervent sales people or something. Three men in black uniforms were there. They were huge.

"Can I help you?" I said in a small voice.

"She's cute," one said. The guy standing next to him smacked him.

"Excuse me, are you Theodosia Grisham?"

"Yes, but don't you want—" The man grabbed my wrist. I screamed. "What are you doing?"

"Miss, on behalf of Shinra Electric Power Company, I am taking you into our custody. Please don't make things hard on yourself."

My heart began to race and pound in my chest. I felt dizzy. What was going on? Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up. It was Reno. He was clad only in his underwear, his hair still loose, a dangerous looking metal rod bouncing on his shoulder. Reno's eyes were filled with fire as he leaned in toward the lead thug's face.

"You best be letting go of her wrist, yo." His voice was frightening, filled with a quiet sort of venom. The man dropped my arm immediately. I turned and buried my face in Reno's shoulder. I was scared out of my wits.

"But sir—"

"What? Are you gorillas surprised to find me here? This is my home, you idiotic grunts! Now you better get your sorry asses back to your superiors before I decide to punish you for them!" I heard two of them run off.

"Just you wait until our boss hears that you've been sleeping with the target."

Hearing those words, I looked up, but Reno had slammed the door. He looked at me for a second or two before running off to his room. I went after him. When I got to the door of his room, he threw some clothes at me.

"Put these on," he said. Reno was half dressed at this point. His hair was pulled back into its usual rat tail and he was wearing his black pants. I just stood there as he buttoned up a white shirt he didn't care to tuck in and threw on a suit jacket he didn't care to zipper up.

"Reno?"

"What?" he said sharply and I flinched. I was shaking. My mouth was frozen.

"I- I'm scared," I managed to get out. Reno dropped his goggles and came to me. His arms were around me, and I immediately felt safe. Reno whispered into my ear.

"It's gonna be okay Theda. I promise I'll keep you safe. I love you." He ran his hands through my hair. It was so comforting. My breath began to even out and my heart began to slow. Just hearing him say those words aloud was enough to reassure me. "I'm going to talk with the President. Rufus Shinra. You'll be fine, I swear."

He kissed my forehead.

"Cheer up, yo," he said, picking up his normal tone. "You're cuter when you smile."

I did smile. That was Reno for you.

Soon after that, we were walking on a sidewalk. Reno had one arm around me, the metal rod in his free hand. He wasn't taking any chances, but just being near him was enough for me.

He took me to the place where he worked. Ever since Meteor, Shinra was no longer based out of Sector 1 in Midgar. In fact, for a while after the massive explosion, the company even ceased to exist. They were definitely getting back on their feet however, and beginning to become a major world power once again, much to my dismay. The truth was I wasn't exactly sure where Reno worked; I just knew it had to be nearby, because I always saw him at the same bar we had met at. I knew he was a Turk, part of the Department of Administrative Research, I knew he was second in command of this branch and I knew he was a body guard for Rufus Shinra. I knew his partner's name was Rude, but other than that, Reno has told me next to nothing about his job.

As we stepped in the front door of the building, I felt a strange feeling come over me. Reno led me up a few flights of stairs, and down a hallway where we ran into a large bald man with sunglasses and a goatee. He was wearing the same suit as Reno, only he was notably better groomed.

"Hey partner," Reno said. "I got someone I want you to meet." The man I now assumed was called Rude gave me a quick glance.

"Reno, is that—?"

"Yeah, the girl I was telling you about from the bar, Theda." Rude's brow furrowed.

"Reno?" he said in a suspecting tone, but Reno ignored him.

"Hey man, I gotta go meet with President, yo. Do you think you could keep and eye on Theda while I'm gone?"

Rude looked like he was going to protest, but Reno gave him a look that Rude had obviously tried to argue with before to no avail. He shook his head.

"All right then, I'll keep her safe."

Reno leaned in and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked, his usual smirk on his face. I threw my arms around him and held on tight. "I know," he whispered and he hugged me back. I don't know when or why, but I started to cry.

"Reno!" I heard someone yell. It was another man in a black Turk suit. He had long black hair that was slicked back and a diamond shaped mark on his forehead. Reno let go of me and turned.

"What do you want Tseng?"

"President Shinra sent me to tell you—"

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'm on my way there now." Reno started off down the hall. The man named Tseng gave me a piercing look. He turned to Reno.

"Oh and Reno?" Reno stopped and turned, clearly exasperated. "Don't get too attached." Reno glared as Tseng went off in the opposite direction. Reno's eyes met mine for a second, and then he turned and went on his way. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve.

"Come with me Miss," Rude said gruffly and I followed him through a door into what looked like an office. There were two desks. One was neat and ordered, which Rude sat behind, and the other was messy and overflowing with papers. I laughed silently to myself. The desk reflected its owner. There was a picture on the desk which I leaned in closer to examine. It was a picture of every Turk in the company standing for what almost seemed like a class photo. I picked out Reno quickly enough. He was standing in between Rude, and a blond woman I did not recognize (who I noticed was next to the man Tseng). His tongue was sticking out and left hand was pulling down his eyelid. His other arm was draped over Rude, who I couldn't help but notice did not look amused. I smiled and took as seat. It seemed like we were there for hours. I looked over to the picture again and reached out to touch Reno's face in photo when the door slammed open. Rude stood and clenched his fists. I screamed.

It was the same three thugs from before.

"Sir, I'd advise you to stand down and let us take the girl. The fact that Rufus Shinra's lap dogs are protecting her isn't going to stop us this time."

Rude unclenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He looked over to me as if to say "There's nothing I can do."

Two of the thugs came and grabbed both my wrists. They dragged me out of the room. Rude ran out after me.

"So where are you taking her anyway?"

"To be studied."

Hearing that, I began to kick and struggle.

"Help me! Reno! Reno! Help me please!" One of the men jerked my arm violently.

"Shut up! Ginger ain't coming to your rescue this time girlie."

I continued to kick and scream Reno's name, but they just dragged me down the hall. Then I saw him. Running down the hall. He stopped at Rude's side.

"Reno? Reno!" I screamed. But he just stood there, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. "Reno, what's wrong with you?" I screamed. "Didn't you say your job was about protecting the people you care about?" Reno just turned away. "Don't you care about me?" I said dissolving into tears. Then they dragged me around a corner and I couldn't see him anymore. I gave up and went limp. They took me to an elevator, but after that I didn't pay attention to where they were taking me until they threw me into a dark room and slammed the door.

I just lay there on the floor in a heap, images of Reno flooding my mind. Reno laughing. Reno drinking. Reno smirking. Reno gazing into my eyes. Reno holding me. Reno kissing me. Reno.

He told me he had loved me. He told me everything would be fine. He told me he'd keep me safe. The he didn't do… anything. I just cried in despair. I don't know how long I was there before the door opened.

"Reno?" I asked the darkness, but it wasn't him. The blonde woman from the photograph was there. She had a plate of food in her hands.

"No, it's Elena. I thought you might be hungry." She placed the plat in front of me. I sat up and took it. Elena sighed. "Leave it to the scientists to throw you into a place like this. We're trying to get you out, I swear."

"What do the want with me?" I asked weepingly.

"Your father's research or rather… what was in it. The scientists think that your father was experimenting with injecting you with cells of the Ancients. Almost like… the Jenova project. Tseng and I… we were once rescued by a man Shinra had experimented on. He's become… he turns into… well, a monster if he doesn't have a special type of materia in him. I thought Shinra had stopped doing experiments like this. Then we found out about you. The had Reno watching you for a whi—"

"Wait," I said. "Reno… was watching me?"

She nodded.

"You were his mission."

Then we heard arguing outside. Tseng's voice and… Reno. Reno's voice.

"You're too emotionally involved in this case Reno!"

"Sure as hell I am, now let me through!"

"Reno, I can't let you do this."

"Let me thought Tseng. Let. Me. THROUGH!" He crashed through the door then. Elena looked at him and then left quickly, closing the door after herself. I tried not to look at Reno. He was breathing heavily. Tears were brimming in his eyes. His face was distraught.

"Theda? Are you okay?" he said, his voice wavering. He came in closer to me. "They didn't hurt—"

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed at the top of my lings. Reno stared for a few seconds and a tear trailed down his cheek. But I just kept on going. "You were watching me! Keeping tabs on me for your freaking company! What, did they tell you to get close to me so you could turn the freakish experiment in? Did they ask you to bed me just so—?"

Reno grabbed my wrist. His face was close to mine and tears were streaming down it.

"Listen to me," he said, his teeth clenched. "Yeah, I was supposed to keep tabs on you, but they told me it was to keep you safe. I would never turn you in to them. Did you think I was lying? Lying when I told you I loved you? When I took you to bed, did you think it was because I was ordered to?" I just cried. Reno looked at me; he looked all over me and then dropped my wrist. "Never mind. You have every right to hate me. I promised you nothing would happen and now look where you are."

"Reno, I didn't mean it," I said running to him. And he placed both his hands on my face. He looked into my eyes, his own spectacular blue eyes still filled with tears.

"I love you Theda. I'll only ever love you. Even if we never see each other again, you'll still be the only one."

He kissed me, only this time I could taste his tears. He knew what he was about to do and he knew what I might mean for him.

Reno took my hand and led me out of the room.

"Reno, what are you—?" Tseng started, but Elena stopped him.

"Just let them go Tseng."

Reno pulled me up closer to himself and put his arms around me. And we ran. He led me through twists and turns, up stairs and through doors. Outside the building a car was waiting. Reno helped me inside and closed the door. But he didn't get in.

"Reno, aren't you coming with me?"

He reached in through the window and stroked a hand down my face.

"I can't Theda." He was smiling, but he was still crying.

The car started to move slowly.

"Reno?"

"I'm having them take you out of Edge. To the country. You'll be safe there." The care was moving faster now. Reno took his hand off my face and grabbed on to the window.

"Reno?" I said, my voice catching.

"You'll be fine, yo" he said, now running to keep up with the car. "I love you." And then he let go. I watched him get smaller and smaller as the car drove on.

I was sure then I was never going to see him again.

A few months later, I was sitting at the kitchen table of my new house in the country. I don't know how Reno had done it, but he had bought me probably the nicest house I had ever owned in my life. I had a sneaking suspicion maybe his boss had helped him out.

I thought about Reno every day, often wondering if I was ever going to see the cocky, smirking red head again in my lifetime. There was something I needed to tell him.

That's when I heard someone pounding on the door.

"Hello? Does anyone live here? Help! Help me!"

I ran to the door and threw it open. It was Reno.

"Theda! I- I-" I watched in horror as his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed into me. The whole front of his shirt was stained red. Red with his blood.

"Reno!" I laid him down on the floor and shut the door quickly. I didn't know who was after him, but it looked bad. I ripped open his shirt to see where he was bleeding from and found the spot quickly. He'd been shot in the chest.

Praying the bullet had missed his heart, I ripped off the bottom of my skirt to wrap around the wound and stem the bleeding. After that was done. I started to search Reno for a cell phone. I found it and scrolled through the contacts until I came to the one labeled Rude. And I pressed send.]

"Hello?"

"Rude! Reno's been shot!"

And that's when it hit me that this was real.

The next hour or so was a blur to me. Rushing Reno to the hospital, having them wheel him away, having three of the Turks show up in the waiting room. It just slipped past in a fog. It wasn't until the doctor came in that things seemed to slow down. I stood quickly.

"Is he okay?"

"He's alive—" the doctor started, but I didn't give him time to finish. I ran past him into Reno's room. Reno was asleep… or at least I thought. I approached his bedside to see him hooked up to all sorts of machines. I collapsed into a chair next to his bed and started to cry.

"Is he… Is he ever going to wake up?" I heard Rude ask the doctor.

"We don't know," the doctor replied.

I looked over to Reno. Him, never awake again.

"No," I said. "No, this isn't happening. It can't be!" The doctor tried putting a hand on my shoulder. I pushed it away. "It can't be. I… I'm pregnant!"

The entire room hushed. Elena turning away and bursting into tears broke the silence. Tseng tried to comfort her, although he obviously was uncomfortable touching her. Rude just bit his lip. I leaned over Reno and lay my head on his shoulder. I was crying. Sobbing. Bawling. Suddenly I felt a hand on my head. I looked up. His eyes were open. He was smiling.

"Hey," he said. "Why the long face? It's not like I'm gonna be that bad of a father." He lifted my chin up with a finger and then started to caress my cheek with the same finger. "Cheer up, yo. I… hate seeing you sad."

"Reno!" I exclaimed and flung my arms around his neck. He sat up and put his arms around me. Held me.

"I know," he whispered into my ear as he squeezed me tight. And neither of us moved for minutes on end. I was happier than I ever could imagine. I had him back, and I was never going to let him go. Even if he did work for Shinra…


End file.
